Connor's Secret Admirer
by Cehsja
Summary: Connor's got a secret admirer and Abby decides to help him find out who it is. When he starts narrowing down the list of suspects however, she can't help but to get a bit jealous. Perhaps it wasn't such a great idea after all. Set right after series 2.
1. The Black Envelope

**A/N: This is a repost of a story I published almost 2 years ago. It's now been edited and I've put in page breaks. Hopefully will be uploading a chapter a day. Total story will be 15 chapters long.**

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><p><em>"Connor!" <em>Abby yelled loudly towards the stairs to get his attention.

Connor poked his head over the railing. "What is it, Abs? I'm busy."

"Having a lie-in does _not_ count as being busy, Con. Come help me get breakfast. Also, you've got some mail here."

Connor frowned, "Mail? Really? Me?"

"You're the only Connor that lives here, ain't ya? Hurry up."

Connor came down the stairs a few moments later, still clad in the boxers and undershirt that he'd been sleeping in. "Where's me mail, Abs? Who's it from?"

Abby shrugged and slid the black envelope across the table to him along with a cup of coffee and a piece of toast. "Guess you'll have to open it and find out."

Connor stared at the envelope suspiciously, "Not too many people know I live here now, do they? There's no return address."

"There's no address _at all_," Abby pointed out. "It's just got your name. Someone left it right on the doorstep, yeah? Didn't actually arrive in the post I don't think."

"Why didn't they just email me? Or phone me? Or ring the bell? Knock on the door? Shout from the street?"

Abby sighed, clearly irritated by all the questions first thing in the morning. "I don't_ know,_ Connor. You'd best open it and find out I guess."

He finally did so, his eyes widening as he read it, and then suddenly he grinned. "_Abby_!_ Look_! I've got a secret admirer!"

"Lemme see."

"No way, it's my mail. It's private."

Abby reached to snatch the letter from him, but Connor held it out of her reach. "Who do you think it is, Abs?"

"How would I know? You won't even let me read it."

Connor frowned suddenly, "What if it's Caroline?"

"What?"

"She knows where I live and she _did _ask me to call her after the funeral, yeah? It might be Caroline. I hope it's not, but it probably is, yeah?"

Abby sighed, "Yeah, could be. Would you just let me take a look?"

"Nope."

"Well, what you gonna do if it's Caroline?"

Connor shrugged, "Ignore it, I guess. I mean, it feels nice to be admired and I do think she feels badly and all, but I don't think Rex likes her much, yeah? Can't bring a girl back here that Rex doesn't like."

"Didn't fancy her much myself," Abby answered pointedly.

Connor grimaced. "Yeah, sorry, Abs. I promise, if it's not Caroline I'll listen to your judgement this time."

"Guess I can't judge someone if we don't know who it is though, can I?"

"Maybe you can help me figure that out."

"Maybe, but you'd have to let me read it, wouldn't you?"

Connor frowned, "I'll think about it."

"Fine," Abby grumbled as she stood and left the room, "I'm gonna go get dressed whilst you think."

Connor nodded and then turned back to his letter and grinned. A secret admirer! Who'd have guessed? He didn't think he'd actually act on it. After all, the reason he'd broken up with Caroline in the first place was because he wanted to act on his feelings for Abby. Eventually. Eventually he'd get up the courage to do that. But still, it was nice to feel wanted and he couldn't help but to wonder who sent it. He scanned the letter for clues, but couldn't find anything so he put it in his pocket to analyse more later.


	2. The List

Connor re-read the letter a few times before finally handing it to Abby to let her look at it. He was sitting at the ADD, which he had invented himself, going over a few updates for it and Abby had been constantly at his side begging to read it. He thought about not letting her for a bit longer, mostly to tease her since he knew he'd let her read it at some point, but he was hoping she'd find a clue about the person's identity that he was overlooking and his curiousity won so he gave it over. Abby leaned back against the desk as she scanned the letter:

_Dear Connor_

_I just wanted you to know that I think I have some feelings for you. I think you're super smart and funny. Or maybe brilliant and hilarious would be better words. I just really, really like you. I think about you all the time. It doesn't seem to matter what I'm doing, you are on my mind. This isn't the first letter I've written to you. The rest of them I signed, but then I was too nervous to actually give them to you. This one I'm going to leave unsigned and maybe that way I can get up the courage to actually let you read it. It's a start right? Who knows, maybe one day I'll have the nerve to tell you how I really feel and who I really am. In the meantime, you'll have to make do with these little notes._

_Your Secret Admirer._

Abby frowned. "At least she could have written it in her own handwriting instead of typing it out, yeah? That'd have made it easier."

"I think that's the point, Abs. She knows I'm brilliant, see? The envelope was her own handwriting I guess, but my name was all in those fancy bubble letters that no one really uses for anything. I don't think we can run an analysis on that."

"No probably not. Any ideas who wrote it yet?"

"Well, Caroline's the only real suspect, but it don't really sound like Caroline, do it?"

"You knew her better than I did."

"I don't think she was the type that'd be too nervous to tell me herself."

"Could be guilt though?"

"Could be," Connor agreed, but he looked doubtful. "Okay, Abs. I'll put her on the list."

"List?"

"List of girls it might be. We need a list, yeah?"

Abby nodded and then looked around. "Okay, wait here, I'll get us a piece of paper."

She disappeared and came back a moment later with a notebook and then handed it to Connor. He took a pen from his coat pocket and wrote at the top: LIST OF GIRLS.

Then he put a number #1 at the left margin and wrote: Caroline.

"_Okaaay,_" Abby said, drawing out the word as she pondered. "Who else?"

"Jenny?"

Abby burst out laughing.

"_What_? What's so funny? Why couldn't Jenny like me?"

Abby shook her head, "Sorry, Con, the idea humours me, but fine, write down Jenny if you want. I really don't see it though, she likes Cutter."

"Still, gotta cover all the bases, right? Jenny and I are pretty close. It could be Jenny."

"I think she's a bit old for you, Con."

Connor ignored her and wrote down #2: Jenny. Then he thought for a bit and put down #3: Penny.

"Who's Penny?" Abby asked, a bit confused.

"She's the girl that brings the mail. She'd have to know where I live, yeah? And I talk to her sometimes when she drops it off. Gave her a big tip at Christmas and the next time she came around she'd brought me some cookies, so ya never know."

Abby frowned; she hadn't known that. Since when was Connor on a first-name-gift-giving basis with the mail girl. She wasn't entirely sure she liked that idea, but she quickly masked her thoughts and then said, "Okay, well, if we're following that train of thought, what about the girl that brings the newspapers too?"

"The little blonde kid? Abby, she's like, fourteen."

"Doesn't mean she can't have a crush on you. She always asks me if you're home when I see her."

"That's because I give her lemonade when she shows up on hot days and hot chocolate on the cold ones."

"You really have to stop flirting with the delivery girls, Con."

"It's not_ flirting!_ I'm just trying to make her day a bit better. I had a paper route as a kid and I loved it when people gave me little things like that. Fine, I'll put her down." He picked up the pen and wrote #4. "Uh, Abby, what's her name?"

"I dunno."

"Okay, then #4 is Paper Girl. What about some of the people here, Abby? Could it be the lab tech? What's her name? Diana?"

Abby shrugged, "Which one is she? The blonde or the brunette?"

"The ginger actually, but who knows, could be the others too. Erin and Lissie, right?"

"Sounds right. Okay, put them down."

Connor wrote down _#5 Diana #6 Erin #7 Lissie,_ and then looked up at Abby, "Could be that new soldier girl from Becker's army too, what was her name again?"

"Jaclyn."

Connor wrote down _#8 Jaclyn._ "Anyone else, Abs?"

"Not that I can think of. But keep your eyes open, yeah? Now we need to start narrowing down the list."

"How?"

"You'll have to watch how people react to you. See if anyone blushes a little more now that they know you've read their note."

"Good idea."

"And when you get another letter, maybe it'll come in their own handwriting next time."

Connor halted, "You think I'll get another one?"

"Yeah, it said that, didn't it?"

"Where?"

"Look at the last sentence in you letter again, Con. It's plural."

Connor re-read it and then nodded. "Can't believe I missed that. Thanks Abby." Suddenly he thought of something and grabbed the list of girls again, "I just remembered one more. Her name's Nina. Bumped into her in the park the other day, literally. Tripped on her dog's leash. We got talking and I told her where I lived. She seemed nice." He wrote her down.

Abby frowned a bit as she looked at the list. It was quite a bit longer than she'd expected and Connor hadn't seemed _overly_ opposed to any of them, other than maybe Caroline and the fourteen-year-old. Exactly how often was Connor flirting around when she wasn't there? Was it possible he actually _liked _any of the girls on the list? He'd have to be thinking about them to have written them down, right? He'd said he'd only date a girl if Abby approved, but Abby knew she wasn't likely to approve of _any _girl Connor brought home. She sighed. Maybe she shouldn't have offered to help. She'd thought it would be a fun project to work on with him, but it was turning out to be slightly emotionally draining.

Connor glanced at Abby and suddenly grinned at her, "Thanks for helping me, Abs!"

Abby grinned back. Okay, that smile of his made it worth it.


	3. The Purple Envelope

The second letter arrived three days later . Connor found it on the doorstep and went running into the house calling Abby's name.

"Abby! It's here! There's another letter!"

Abby entered the room slowly, drying her hair with a towel. "Well you're excited about that then, yeah?"

"Of course I am, Abs. Someone_ likes_ me!"

"Do you like them back?" Abby asked, not sure she wanted the answer.

"Dunno who it is, do I?"

"Do you like any of the girls on your list?"

"Prefer not to say, thank-you very much, Abs. Besides, maybe we missed someone. What if it's not one of them?" He wasn't quite ready to tell Abby that the only girl he liked was _her._ To be honest, he'd been a slightly disappointed the day after the first letter came that Abby had tried to help him so much with this whole letter thing. Did that mean she wanted him to find another girlfriend? He supposed he'd better wait and see how this whole letter thing panned out before making any moves on Abby. He couldn't risk losing her as a friend if her reaction to the letters revealed she wasn't interested in him at all.

Abby frowned at his answer, not sure what to make of it. She sat beside him at the table, as close as she could, and leaned over his shoulder, "Read it then."

Connor opened the dark purple envelope and scanned it with his eyes as Abby read it silently too.

_Dear Connor_

_I was totally nervous about your reaction to the first letter, so I can't believe I'm giving you a second one. Still, it feels good to tell you about my feelings. Sometimes I feel like the luckiest girl in the world just because I know you. I've decided I don't want to overwhelm you with sending you every letter I write, but I think there will be more. Maybe every few days? Is that okay?_

_Your Secret Admirer_

"Well we know one thing," Abby pointed out, "It's definitely a girl."

Connor frowned at her, "Of course it is! Did we ever doubt that? Seriously, Abby."

"Just sayin'. You never know, yeah? Doesn't cross anybody off the list though, do it?"

Connor looked at the letter a bit longer and then shook his head, "No, guess not. Maybe I should write her back."

"How? You don't know who she is."

"I could leave a letter back on the doorstep."

"Who would you address it to? She'd just think it's for us."

"I'll write To Connor's Secret Admirer on it."

"What you gonna say?"

Connor frowned, "I don't know. Hard to say if I don't know who it's going to. Maybe I could ask who she is?"

"As if she'd tell you; that's the whole point of this. Honestly, Connor."

"I 'spose." Connor sighed and then looked up at Abby, "Could it be Lorraine?"

"Lester's secretary? I doubt it, but you've got Jenny on this list so you may as well write her down."

Connor pulled out his list and wrote: _#10 Lorraine_. "I guess this is going the wrong way, innit? Supposed to be narrowing it down, not adding more."

"True, but if you're gonna figure it out, you gotta check out every suspect. Has anyone been acting differently lately?"

"I didn't notice anything," Connor replied after a moment's pondering.

"Could just mean you're not very observant."

"Oi!" Connor whipped his head around to give her a fake glare but, in line with not being very observant, he hadn't realised just how close Abby was sitting to him. His forehead bashed against hers, hard.

"OW!" They yelped in unison, both holding a hand to their head.

Abby glared at him, but couldn't stay angry for long. She never did like to see him hurt.

"Sorry, Abby! I'm really sorry!"

Abby let go of her own throbbing head and gently reached for his face, lowering it so she could take a look. "Move your hand, Con. Let me see."

Connor did so, and Abby rubbed her thumb over the spot. "I don't think there'll be a bump," she said.

"Still hurts," he complained.

Abby laughed and quickly leaned in and kissed the spot, "There, that better?"

Connor looked at her in surprise and then nodded enthusiastically, "_Much_ better! Thank-you, Abby!" It still hurt of course, but that was nothing compared to the feeling of Abby kissing his forehead.

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"You hurt me too, you know. Aren't you gonna repay the favour?"

"Oh, yeah, right, of course." Connor looked at her doubtfully. Abby was asking him to kiss her? He did so, very hesitantly, barely touching his lips to her forehead, just in case.

Abby smiled at him and moved away, "That's better," she said, getting up and leaving the room. She felt him watch her and smiled. She had a definite advantage over any of the girls on his dumb list anyway. She knew him the best after all.

Connor sighed as he watched Abby leave and then he crumpled up the letter and threw it away. There were no more clues in it, he was sure of that, so he didn't have any need to keep it. He was touched of course, and oh so curious, but really it was only Abby he wanted.


	4. The Yellow Envelope

Connor received two letters on Monday. Okay, one wasn't really a letter, it was a sticky note handed to him with a set of keys by Cutter. The hasty but familiar scrawling read:

_Con,  
>Had a headache. Went home early but couldn't find you anywhere to tell you. Why is your phone off? Lester drove me so you could have my car.<br>Cheers, Abs._

Connor frowned as he pulled his mobile out of his pocket; he was sure he had turned it on. The battery was dead. He must have forgotten to charge it due to the distraction of the letters. He reread Abby's note and folded it to put in his wallet. He always kept Abby's notes, though he wasn't sure why. It's not like it was a love letter like the ones that came on the doorstep every few days now.

Connor headed to Lester's office.

"I'm going home."

Lester glanced at him, "You've got three hours left, Temple."

"Abby's not feeling well."

"I drove her home myself since we couldn't find you. Why wasn't your phone on? What if it'd been an anomaly?"

"Me phone's dead. I'd have heard the alarm. I'm going home. What if Abby needs something?"

Lester sighed and waved him away, "Fine, fine, go on then."

Connor grinned and left before Lester could change his mind.

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><p>He found the Secret Admirer note in a mustard yellow envelope on the doorstep when he entered the house. Abby was asleep on the chesterfield, so he read it alone while putting on a pot of tea in the kitchen.<p>

_Dear Connor,  
>I know I said it before, but I just can't stop thinking about you. Every single day I get up and think about you while I drink my morning tea. In fact, that's what I'm doing right now while I write this: drinking tea. Are you drinking some while reading it? I hope so. Then we'd be having tea together.<br>Your Secret Admirer_

Connor frowned and turned the kettle off again,deciding to make hot chocolate instead. Later, when she woke up, he'd have a nice cup of tea with Abby then instead. He took his drink and headed back into the living room to sit beside her. She looked so peaceful. He pushed back her hair and gently kissed her head like he had the day they had bonked theirs together. She had requested it then, so he didn't think she'd mind now. Abby's eyes fluttered open and she looked at him a bit dazed.

"Connor?"

"Sorry, Abby. I didn't mean to wake you."

Abby slowly sat up, "What time is it?"

"Soon past noon. I came home when I got your note."

"You didn't have to do that."

"Wanted to be with you, Abby. How're you feeling?"

"Better than before."

"Do you want me to get you anything? Tea?"

"Later. Believe it or not, Lester made me a pot of tea before he left."

"Lester?"

"Yep. Told him my plan was to have a cup of tea and get some rest and he told me he'd make it for me as he couldn't have me doing something silly and getting injured in the kitchen because I was distracted by my headache, mostly because it would interfere with work of course."

"Of course," Connor laughed with her. Then he realised how close to her he was still sitting and he stood up to move over to the next chair.

Abby watched him for a bit as he drank his hot chocolate and then sighed and looked away again. Connor glanced at her, "I got another letter."

"Did you?" Abby looked back. "Can I read it?"

Connor reached into his pocket and handed it to her. Abby scanned it and then sighed, "Okay, so we have two clues now. It's a girl and she likes tea."

"Not much help though, is it?"

"Is there anyone on your list that doesn't like tea?"

Connor shrugged, "_I don't know_!"

"Well maybe you should offer to get them a cup of tea and see what they say?"

"What?"

"If anyone says they don't drink it, you know it's not them, right?"

Connor sighed, "Abby, that's just asking for trouble. I don't normally offer these people tea, so whoever it is will think I've figured it out and it's my way of saying I like them back, don'tcha think?"

Abby frowned, "I guess you have a point. Okay, what if_ I_ offer to get them tea?"

"They'll think the same. How often do you serve tea to the lab techs and the girl that brings the post? They must know we're friends and they'll know you're helping me, right? Besides, that's just weird."

"Hmmm…" Abby replied quietly. They sat silently for awhile again and then she said suddenly, "I found out that Jenny asked Cutter out for drinks after the funeral. She _really _likes him, Con. I really think you should cross her off the list."

"Fine." Connor shrugged, "Didn't really think it was her anyway, just wanted to make my list look longer. I'll do it later though. Left the list upstairs."

Abby nodded and then handed him back his letter. Connor rolled it into a ball and tossed it into the trash across the room. "Three-Pointer!" he yelled as the piece of paper whooshed into the bin without touching the rim.

"What are you _doing!_? You can't throw it out!"

Connor stared at her, "Why not? There's no more clues in it."

"Connor, it's a love letter. You're supposed to_ keep_ those."

"But…"

Abby stood up and pulled it back out of the bin, flattening it and handing it back to him, "It's a sentimental thing. Trust me, girls love it if you keep the little things they give you. Honestly, Con, for a genius, you sure can be dumb sometimes."

Connor frowned; he knew that. That's why he kept all Abby's notes. But she didn't know he did that; he'd never told her. It's just, he didn't care about the other girl, that's all. The last thing he wanted was for Abby to think he was dumb.

"I'm not dumb, Abby, and I_ can_ be sentimental. I'll prove it."

He got up and went up the stairs and returned a few minutes later with a box. He dumped it upside down into her lap, spreading scrap paper all over her. Abby looked at him, puzzled, and then started picking them up and reading them.

~ _Con, I'll be home late tonight. Don't wait up. Abs._

_~Con, can you pick up some milk on your way home? Abs._

_~Con, have a great day! Abs._

_~Con, don't forget to wash the dishes before you go to bed. Abs._

The notes went on and on, most written on scrap paper or sticky notes. They weren't important, just little reminders and et cetera that she had left for him over the past year and half. Abby stared at them in disbelief. Finally she looked at him and Connor could see that her eyes were watering a bit, "Connor, I don't know what to say."

Connor shrugged and started to put them back in his box, "See Abs, I keep the important stuff, okay?"

Abby nodded and quickly wiped her eye with the back of her hand, "I still think you should keep the letters though. Just until you find out who they are from. You never know, you might like her."

Connor frowned and stood. "Fine," he mumbled and quickly left to put the box and the letter in his room. He felt slightly hurt by her reaction. She had been pleased he'd kept the stuff, that was obvious, but it was her insistence that she keep the letter from the secret admirer that bothered him. She shouldn't want him to like someone else, right? Connor sighed. It wasn't right. Every time he went moved a step forward with Abby, she pushed him back a step again. Sometimes it felt like they weren't getting anywhere and he didn't understand why.


	5. The Burgundy Envelope

Abby sighed in frustration. Why couldn't she just tell Connor how she felt? She _knew_ he liked her; he'd kept every note she'd ever written him! The gesture had caught her by complete surprise and she hadn't known how to deal with the emotion. She also knew she'd hurt him by her silence on the subject. She barely slept a wink as she thought about it and in the morning she was exhausted. She'd had trouble focusing on anything she tried to do and finally she just gave up and wandered over to the ADD to hang out with Connor who was doing something that was probably brilliant to it. She didn't really say too much as she listened to him ramble on about things she didn't quite understand. She just liked to be close to him. He acted as though everything was normal, as though she hadn't hurt him the day before, and she appreciated that.

After a bit, she pulled something out of her pocket and handed it to him. Connor glanced at the burgundy envelope questioningly.

"It was on the doorstep this morning," Abby said. "You were still in bed so I brought it in and forgot about it. Had other things on my mind, just remembered now."

"Read it to me," Connor said, in a tone that suggested he was asking.

Abby nodded and opened the envelope.

_Dear Connor.  
>I know, I know. I just wrote to you yesterday, but I've been thinking of you more and more lately. Last night I was wondering what our children would look like?<em>

Connor choked on the sip of tea he had been taking and put the cup back down on the table by the ADD. "Our… _what?" _He asked, interrupting Abby.

Abby giggled, "So she _really _likes you. Don't you want kids, Con?"

"Never really thought about it. If I'm gonna have kids though, you better believe I'm gonna at least know the name of their mother. Think I'd like to get married first too. This girl is seriously starting to scare me."

Abby laughed and continued reading the letter.

_Do you even want kids? I imagine we'd have a boy and a girl. Two kids. Do you think they'd have your dark hair, or my blonde hair? Maybe one of each. Sorry if I scared you now. You probably think I'm a freak. I can't help it though. I think I love you._

_Your Secret Admirer._

Connor frowned. "Okay, this is getting seriously weird. She's thinking about kids Abs!"

"She's a woman Connor! We think about stuff like that! Trust me; it's fine."

Connor pulled out his list of girls and grinned, "Well, at least we have one huge hint now. She has blonde hair."

Abby frowned, surprised she hadn't noticed that. "Wow, yeah, that is a pretty big clue actually. I wonder if she meant to give away so much. Probably wasn't thinking straight when she wrote it."

"She's talking about kids, Abs. I _hope _she wasn't thinking straight. It's way too soon for that. Woman or not, she's gotta remember: introduction first, then kids."

Abby rolled her eyes and then looked at the list. Jenny was crossed off, but there were nine remaining.

"I guess it's not Caroline then," she said.

Connor nodded and crossed off Caroline, looking a bit relieved as he did so. "It's not Penny either, I don't think. Her hair's not blonde, yeah?"

"It's… light brown, but hair often darkens as one gets older… She might be considered blonde. At any rate, her kids might be blonde."

"Okay, Penny stays then. What about Paper Girl?"

"She's blonde."

"She's also a kid. Kids don't talk about having kids do they?"

Abby shrugged, "I guess some might. She's probably off the hook though, but I can't say for sure."

"Fine, I'll leave her. Diana's ginger though, so I can cross her off. Erin is blonde so she stays. Lissie has dark hair, so she can go."

"Wait, no, I think she dyes her hair. She might be naturally blonde, in which case her kids could be."

"Oh. Jaclyn's blonde-ish. She better stay. Wow I seem to attract a lot of blondes."

Abby bit her lip to hide her smile as she nodded, "Yeah, I guess so. But we can cross off Lorraine. What about the girl you bumped into: Nina? What colour was her hair?"

"Bright blue, actually."

"Blue?"

Connor hesitated, "She dyes it too then. Dunno what colour she naturally is. She stays."

"So we've got it down to six names then."

"Probably five, I still don't think it's the kid. Anyway, the letter came in the afternoon the day you were sick. She should have been at school."

"It's your list; cross her off then."

"Nope. I need solid proof. After all, it's always the one you least expect, right?"

Abby chuckled, "We're not in a movie, Connor."

"Still, I think you were right before about keeping her on the list, just in case."

"What _are _you two doing?" They were suddenly interrupted by Lester.

"Nothing, nothing," Connor said, shoving the list and the letter into his pocket.

"Well then, get doing something! Do you think I pay you both to stand around and do nothing all day?"

Connor turned back to the ADD and Abby quickly slunk away with a sheepish grin on her face.


	6. The Dark Green Envelope

A couple of days passed before the next letter arrived. Abby was out grocery shopping and Connor was passing the time by chatting with Rex. Every so often he went outside to check if there was another letter, just in case. When he finally heard something at the front door, he jumped up. If he ran fast enough, maybe he could catch whoever left it. The only person at the door though was Abby. Her one hand was filled with a large grocery bag and her other was on her keys as she struggled to get the right one. She looked surprised when he opened it.

"Thanks, Connor! That was thoughtful of you."

"I thought I heard another letter be dropped off, but it was you."

"Ah, so you weren't being thoughtful after all," Abby laughed. "Well there's one at my feet. I couldn't pick it up; me hands are full."

Connor glanced down and saw a dark green envelope lying on the mat. He quickly and eagerly picked it up. "Shall we go read it, then?"

"Help me put the groceries away first."

Connor nodded and took the bag from her, carrying it into the kitchen. Abby took off her shoes and followed him and started to put the groceries in their rightful places. Connor watched her for a bit and smiled to himself. Abby had blonde hair too, right? What if…? He quickly squashed the thought and sighed. It wasn't possible, so there was no point in thinking it. No scratch that, it was possible, just not probable. He allowed himself the tiniest glint of hope as he grabbed some dried noodles out of the grocery bag.

"Abby?"

"Yep?" she responded as she shut the refrigerator and turned to him.

"You're really pretty."

Abby looked at him, puzzled, and then glanced down at herself. She wasn't wearing anything special: dark jeans, a yellow tee-shirt and a bright blue hoodie over it.

Connor read her mind. "You're always pretty, Abby."

Abby wasn't quite sure what to say and finally just decided on a simple, "Thanks." It was all she could manage at the moment, having been rendered speechless. Connor nodded at her with a smile and turned back to the food. Then they sat together at the counter and opened the newest letter.

_Dear Connor,  
>It's hard for me sometimes to know what to write to you. I'm afraid that sometime I will say too much and you'll figure out who I am. On the other hand, maybe that wouldn't be such a bad idea. But what else can I say that I haven't already? You know how I feel. If I keep writing the same things, I'm sure I'll start to bore you. Do you want to know a secret? I once carved our initials together onto a heart shaped stone I found and threw it deep into the canal where no one would find it. Well, since I don't have a lot to say this morning, I drew this picture for you instead. I apologize now for my nearly non-existent art skills, but I thought you'd like it.<em>

Your Secret Admirer

Connor frowned, "What picture? I don't see a picture."

Abby picked up the envelope and flipped it over. "It's here."

She handed it to him and he looked at the poorly drawn dinosaur. "Someone from work then," he concluded with a grin. "There's no way that Nina, Penny, nor the paper girl know about my obsession with dinosaurs."

"Right," Abby agreed and Connor pulled the list out of pocket and crossed the two names off.

"We're down to three then. Jaclyn, Lissie or Erin. It's gotta be one of them," Connor concluded.

"Yep, I guess so."

"Should we take bets on which one it is?"

Abby laughed, "I dunno. I have no guess actually. Which one do you _want _it to be?" Instantly she wished she hadn't asked.

But Connor just shrugged, "I don't really know any of them well, do I?"

"Still, you must have_ some_ opinion on the matter. Let's say it wasn't about a relationship. Let's pretend that you had to spend the afternoon with one of them. Which would you choose?" Why was she pushing this? She knew she didn't want an answer.

Connor thought about it, "I dunno, Abs. Probably Erin or Jaclyn. They both seem quite down to earth. Nice girls."

Abby frowned. So he _had_ thought about it, then. He_ had_ been paying the girls some attention. "So you do have an idea of who you want it to be then?"

_You._ That's what Connor wanted to say. He _wante_d it to be Abby; it probably wasn't, but... He sighed, "Yes, okay, fine. I know who I want it to be, but I think I want to keep my thoughts private for awhile longer."

Abby nodded and surprisingly, she dropped the subject immediately. "I gotta go. I'm tired. Gonna go shower and go to bed."

She turned quickly and locked herself in the bathroom so that he wouldn't notice how hurt she was. He_ liked_ one of them then. She didn't know which girl but it didn't really matter, did it? He had a favourite and that meant he must like one of them. She'd probably blown her own chances when she hadn't said anything about him keeping all her notes. She turned on the shower so that he wouldn't hear her cry.


	7. The Brown Envelope

Abby was unusually quiet the next morning and Connor kept hoping to break the silence, but she answered all his questions with shrugs or simple yeses and nos. This had started when he'd admitted there was someone specific he wanted the letters to be from. He probably should have just told her the truth, that _she_ was the one, but it would be far too embarrassing if it wasn't her and there was still a chance it wasn't. Probably a very a _good_ chance.

"Abby," he said finally, "Remember I told you that I wouldn't date anyone you didn't approve of?"

Abby turned to him and nodded slowly, "Yeah, why?"

"The last three on the list, would you approve of_ any_ of them?" He wanted to see her reaction. If she pushed him towards one of them, it meant she wasn't interested in him, right?

Abby turned from Connor and faced the sink so he couldn't see her face, "I don't know them well, Con."

"I know that. You didn't know Caroline either and you disapproved of her from day one. Do you think there's anyone on that list that I should ask out?"

"Do what you want," she shrugged, still facing the sink, but Connor heard the tone in her voice and smiled to himself. She was upset by the questions, so he still had a chance.

"Thanks Abs," Connor found himself grinning. Abby turned to face him finally, "Are you going to? Are you going to ask out whoever sent them when you know?" She sounded worried.

"Maybe. Depends who it is." If it was _Abby_ then yes, he thought.

Abby sighed, "Which one? Jacklyn? Erin?"

"Might not be any of them, though. It's still possible I missed someone, yeah?"

"Who?"

"Someone special-er. Never know. Might be."

Abby frowned at him, a worried but strange expression coming across her features that Connor couldn't quite make out. "Connor, who are you talking about?"

"Never mind. I gotta think about it some more first. Sorry I asked." Connor turned and left the room and headed back to his. He pulled out all the letters that Abby had insisted he keep and read through them carefully, hoping for more clues. There were none. He had thrown one out still, Abby didn't know that. He wished now he hadn't. He didn't think there were any clues in it, but he wanted to keep them all in case they were from her. If they weren't, well, then he could toss them then, but the more he thought about it, the more he thought he might be right.

* * *

><p>A few hours later, Connor sat on his lunch break in a small café with Cutter and Jenny. Abby was supposed to meet them but she'd called and said she was running a little late. She showed up right at the end of lunch time and pulled Connor aside.<p>

"It's not Erin."

"How do you know?"

"I caught her crying in the bathroom and when I asked her what was wrong, she said her boyfriend had just dumped her this morning. She's gone home for the rest of the day. Trust me, Connor, she wouldn't have been as upset as she was if she liked you instead of him."

"Good work, Abs," Connor smiled at her. "I'll cross her off then. But you missed lunch."

"I know, sorry. I had some stuff to do and then this thing with Erin just took up so much time."

"Are you hungry? I'd bought you a sandwich. Take it back to work with you." Connor handed her cucumber, tomato, and cream cheese sandwich that he knew she loved.

Abby grinned at him, "Thanks, Con! I appreciate that!"

"No problem. See you in a bit?"

"Yeah."

Connor returned to the ADD and found a brown envelope on it with the now familiar bubble writing spelling out his name and smiled as he opened the newest love letter.

_Dear Connor,_

_I guess it's safe to give this to you at work here. If you are at all trying to figure out who I am, my dinosaur picture would have given away the fact that we work together. I never know quite what to expect with you. Sometimes I think you like me too, but other times I think I'm too late, that you like someone else. The thought terrifies me and then I can't do anything but cry. I cried myself to sleep last night over such thoughts. I bet you never thought I'd be crying over you, did you? I wish I knew what you were thinking. I wish I knew what your reaction would be if you knew it was me. _

_Your Secret Admirer._

"Oh Abs," Connor sighed quietly. It _was_ her, right? Or was that still just wishful thinking? No, it made sense. It had to be. He looked around and saw Abby standing on the other side of the room, looking at him.

"Abby," he called to her gently, holding an arm out to beckon her closer.

Abby came over to where he was and looked at him questioningly.

"There's another, see?" he said, handing her the letter. Abby stood beside his chair and scanned the letter in her hand.

"No more clues then," she said casually.

"No, but we're down to two. Shouldn't be too hard to figure it out now, yeah?"

"But you thought it could be someone else," she reminded him, looking at him to gauge his reaction.

"Maybe wishful thinking though?"

"Who else could it be, Con? She _works_ with you! The selection is limited."

Connor smiled, "Still, there is someone else that fits, isn't there? One more person." His eyes met hers and Abby gasped as she realised who he meant.


	8. The Light Blue Envelope

Connor knew he had said or done something bad; he just wasn't quite sure what. Abby had let out a bit of a gasp and then quickly excused herself and hurried away. She'd been avoiding him the rest of the day. It made no sense; if the letters were from Abby, then she loved him, right? So she should be _happy_ that he was considering asking out the author of the letters. He sighed; maybe they weren't from her after all. Maybe, well, what if he'd been wrong and she was upset he'd even hoped for that? But he was sure he was right.

Even once they arrived at home she continued to ignore him and give him the cold shoulder. Connor decided that he wasn't going to go to bed until things were at least back to normal. Somehow he had to fix this. What he was actually going to do about it he hadn't decided yet.

* * *

><p>Abby shut herself in her bedroom and locked the door; apparently Connor hoped the letters were from her. He'd even gone so far as to say that if they were, he'd ask her out. At least, that's what she thought he'd meant. Connor was pounding on her bedroom door asking her to come out now, but she didn't want to have this conversation right now. She needed time to think.<p>

Finally she opened the door and glanced at him, "Connor, I need to clear my head for a bit, I'm going for a walk."

"I can come, Abby."

"I wanna be alone, Con." She tried to brush past him; she just wasn't ready to face him yet.

Connor caught her hand and held her back, "Abby, I didn't mean to upset you. I'm sorry."

"I'm fine, Con. I'm not upset. Just… leave me for a bit, okay?" She pulled her hand free and Connor let her go.

* * *

><p>Abby was gone just long enough that Connor was starting to worry something could have happened to her on her walk. He had prepared dinner for them both and was doing his best to keep it warm when she finally returned. Connor could see she had been crying and moved to her side immediately. She smiled weakly at him.<p>

"Sorry Con, it smells good but I'm not hungry. I think I'm just gonna go to bed."

"Abby, we should talk."

Abby shook her head, "There's nothing to talk about, is there?" She turned to go and then hesitated and returned, holding out the light blue envelope. "This was on the doorstep when I came in just now."

Connor took it from her hands and glanced at her, "Are you going to read it with me?"

"No. I'm too tired. You can tell me what it says tomorrow, yeah?"

"Yeah," Connor said quietly.

Abby turned and left.

* * *

><p>Connor stared at the envelope for a long time before opening it. Finally he sighed and broke the seal.<p>

_Dear Connor,_

_I know, I know, two letters in one day. I guess you think I'm psycho by now. I just really need to talk to you and I don't know how else to do so. Connor, I thought I was ready, but today I realised I'm still terrified beyond belief. I thought by writing you letters I could get out some of the emotions I've been struggling with, without having to worry about the consequences of really telling you how I was feeling. It turns out I was wrong. I should have known you'd start to figure it out. Like I said in the first letter, you really are brilliant. I tried so hard to steer you away from finding out who I was because I wanted to continue. I wanted to have this form of release where I could just let you know the truth and not have to worry about anything really changing. As long as I could keep my identity a secret, I didn't have to worry about you hurting me like I've been hurt so many times before, or so I thought. I guess these letters weren't such a hot idea after all, but it's too late for that now and, as you can see, I'm still writing them. It hurts too much to keep everything in now. I know I've been confusing you, please just, be patient with me. I love you._

Connor wiped away his tears as he finished reading Abby's words to him. The letter wasn't signed at all this time, not even the usual "Your Secret Admirer" line, but he didn't doubt it was her anymore. At least he knew why she was avoiding him now. His Abby was terrified. Connor put the letter down and headed for her bedroom. He could hear her sobs even before he opened the door.

He found her lying on the bed in the dark with her face buried in her pillow. He sat on the edge of the bed and placed a hand gently on her back. Abby spun around to face the wall. "Connor, just let me be."

"No."

"Connor…" her voice held a note of warning in it, but Connor ignored it. He wasn't going to let her send him away. Not this time. She needed him and even if they didn't talk, he wasn't going anywhere.


	9. The Talk

When Abby realised that Connor wasn't leaving, she began to cry harder. Connor stared at her, his hand resting on her back, wondering what to do. The only clear thought in his head was that he had to stay with her. After a few minutes he pulled her, rather awkwardly, into a sitting position and wrapped his arms tightly around her. Abby didn't protest, though to be fair she didn't really acknowledge him either. He placed a kiss in her hair and finally got a reaction when she turned and buried her face into his shirt, gripping his sleeve. "I'm sorry, Connor," she said hoarsely between tears, barely making out the words.

"For what? Abby, you didn't do anything wrong."

Abby reached and wiped away the tears on her cheeks, but they were still falling. Connor felt her shaking. Why was she so scared?

"This is ridiculous, yeah?" Abby whispered again, not really answering his question. "I'm supposed to be the brave one. I'm not s'posed to be like this."

"Abby…" Connor sighed her name. He was silent for a moment, thinking his words through carefully before speaking. He couldn't afford to mess things up this time. "Abby, you're my hero. You're the bravest girl I know and it's not because things don't scare you, it's because you don't let your fear stop you from doing those things. Me? I'm getting better that way, but you, you've always been brave."

"Connor, that's not true. Look how many times you've put yourself in danger to save my life."

Connor laughed a bit at the irony, "That's because it's not _myself_ that I'm scared for, Abby. I'm far more scared of losing you."

"You won't lose me, Con."

"No? It seems to me it's you that's been telling me to leave you alone all day."

"I didn't want you to know."

"About the letters?"

"About my feelings," Abby said and Connor noticed that even now she was avoiding admitting that she'd written them. He sighed.

"Connor, I don't know how to be in love. What if I hurt you? What if you leave?"

"I won't."

Abby sighed, "Connor do you remember when Stephen got bitten by the centipede and you asked me if I fancied him?

Connor nodded, "You said you didn't even know him and I said that that had never stopped people from fancying each other before."

"Funny, at the time I thought my answer made sense. Now I realise that, until this point, I'd never fancied anyone I actually _did_ know. Not really. Even the guys I've dated, I hardly knew them at all. When I did start to get to know them, I always discovered that they weren't who I thought they were and it didn't last long. It's so much different feeling like this with someone I know so well."

"It's better," Connor said pointedly. "You know you can trust me, Abby."

"It's terrifying! The feelings are a hundred times stronger and it's way more risk if I'm wrong. It was easy to let go of the other guys because I didn't know them. Look at me, Connor. I'm a pathetic emotional wreck lately and it's because I'm scared. I haven't been like this with anyone else before. I fight dinosaurs for a living and it's a relationship that scares me? This is_ stupid!_"

She spat out the last word in a tone that let Connor know she was angry with herself, angry that she'd been so affected by her feelings. Connor tightened his grip on her. "I'm scared too, Abby," he admitted, "but that's why we need each other, yeah?"

To his relief, Abby looked at him and smiled weakly, biting her lip, "Yeah."

Connor kissed her forehead, "We'll take things slowly, Abby. I promise." He used his thumb to wipe her tears from her face.

"Okay." She was still shaking, but the tears were letting up. They sat quietly for a long time while Abby calmed herself down. Finally she relaxed and shuffled so that she was leaning back against his chest. Connor kept his arms around her.

After a few moments of silence, Abby spoke again. "Connor I'm-I _think,_ I'm okay now, but I might hurt you."

Connor looked at her questioningly and she continued, "I might say things I don't mean sometimes. I might push you away sometimes, because I might still get scared sometimes." Her eyes met his, and he saw the hope in them, hope that he would tell her it was okay.

"You can't do anything that'll make me leave you, Abby. In case you haven't noticed, you've pushed me away many times since I've known you and I'm still here, aren't I?"

Abby nodded, smiling. "So it would seem. You should've left me ages ago."

"Couldn't. I love you too much, have since the day I met you. Abby, can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Who wrote the letters?"

Abby burst out laughing, "You've already figured that out on your own, haven't you?"

"Tell me anyway."

"I wrote them, Con. Of course it was me. I thought it'd be easier, but it wasn't. I got so jealous."

"Of _yourself?_" he asked, incredulously.

"Of the thought that there were others you hoped it might be. I never expected that."

"I never hoped it was anyone but you. That's why I threw them away until you told me not to. It didn't matter who wrote them. I mean, I was touched and all, but more than the letters themselves, I enjoyed sharing the secret with you. That was fun. I lost the second one, Abs. I tossed it before I knew. I'm sorry."

"S'okay."

"Can I read the others?"

Abby frowned, "What others?"

"In the first letter you said you'd written others that you'd signed and never given to me 'cuz you were scared to. Can I read them now?"

"I destroyed them all after writing them. I was afraid you'd find them. I think I still have the last one. They were all nearly the same. Why do you want to read it?"

"Because you wrote it and because you wrote it for me."

Abby sighed, "I'll save it for you, okay? I won't get rid of it, but not yet. It's not really like the ones I gave you. I wrote a lot more. It was longer and more personal. One day I'll let you. Besides, right now I don't really feel like moving from your arms to dig it out."

He chuckled, "Good point. I'm in no rush for you to go anywhere either."

"Connor?"

"Yeah?"

"I've been wondering about something..."

"Tell me."

"I've been wondering what it would feel like to kiss you."

Connor grinned and answered her without hesitation.

**A/N I know this kind of seems like an ending... but there's still a few chapters left so stay tuned until the end for some more letter-writing fun!**


	10. The Red Envelope

Abby wrapped her arms around Connor's neck and sighed happily as he kissed her; this felt good, really good. It felt natural and easy. Suddenly she burst out laughing and Connor quickly pulled away, looking somewhat mortified.

"Abby, _what_ is so funny?" he demanded.

Abby shook her head a bit, trying to clear her mind so she could vocalize her thoughts properly. "It's just, oh Connor, I can't believe I was scared of _this. _I don't think I've ever felt so safe in my life. It's like nothing could ever hurt me while I'm in your arms. I guess it just struck me as funny that I've spent so much time running terrified from you and your… safeness. That's all."

Connor kissed her forehead, "Just so long as you weren't laughing at the way I kiss then..."

" 'Course not," Abby smiled at him. "Can we get back to it now?"

Connor laughed. "You know, you don't actually have to ask first when you want to kiss me." He captured her lips again before she could respond and sighed happily. Somehow, for some unknown reason or another, His Abby wanted him as much as he wanted her. He wondered if anyone had _literally _burst of joy before, because he thought he probably would.

* * *

><p>Connor had assumed that the letters would stop now, but he found one on his pillow a few days later in a red envelope. He smiled as he opened it.<p>

_Dear Connor,_

_In my last letter I mentioned that I didn't want you to find out who I was because I wanted to continue writing to you. I've decided there is no real reason for me to stop, is there? Especially since I know that you keep everything I write. I like the idea that you'll always have my words of love where you can read them even when I'm not there. Did you know that I haven't stopped smiling since you started kissing me? Have a great day!_

_Your Not-So-Secret Admirer._

_PS: Here's another picture of a dinosaur._

Connor laughed at Abby's attempt at drawing a raptor and carefully folded the letter to place it with all the rest. After that the letters kept coming every few days. Connor loved the fact that she still wrote to him and he decided he wanted to do something special for her too. He just wasn't sure what.

* * *

><p>"Professor?" Connor asked as he approached Nick at the ARC. "I need some advice about women."<p>

Nick glanced at Connor through his glass writing board. "I'm probably the wrong man to ask, Connor. Don't have much luck with them myself."

"You got one to marry you once, that's gotta count for something."

"She was crazy."

Connor couldn't really argue with that, so he ignored it. "See, the thing is, I wanna do something special for Abby. She always writes me letters and I think I should do something for her too."

Nick looked confused, "Abby _writes_ to you? You live in the same house. Can't you just talk?"

"Love letters. She writes them so I can keep them, or at least that's part of the reason. Anyway, it doesn't matter, point is, I wanna do something for her."

"_Abby _writes you _love_ letters?"

Connor nodded.

"All the time?"

"About four or five a week. So I should do something for her, right?"

"Have you ever considered writing back?"

Connor grinned, "So simple, and yet, so brilliant! Thanks Professor!"

Then he ran from the room leaving Nick watching with an amused expression on his face.


	11. The ARC Envelope

"Abby! I've been looking all over for you."

Abby looked up from the paperwork she was filling out to find Nick standing behind her. She smiled at him, "Hey!"

"Erm, Connor told me to give this to you," Nick held out one of the cream-coloured envelopes from the stationery storage room that had the ARC's logo and return address pre-stamped on it. Abby's name was scrawled across the front in Connor's handwriting. "He said he wanted to send it via post to make it extra special, but he couldn't remember his own address so he's hired me to be a postman for the day."

Abby giggled and took the letter from him eagerly. Connor had written back to her! It was things like this that made her love him so much. Nick was still standing and watching her though and she didn't want to read it in front of him so she tucked it into her purse.

"Thanks Cutter. So, what's the pay in the mail field like these days?" she teased him.

Nick grinned at her, "Absolutely zilch, but I wanted to come and talk to you anyway."

He had her full attention now, "About what?"

"Connor."

Abby bit her lip nervously, wondering if there was some issue that she was going to have to take sides in. "What about Connor?"

"Abby, I don't want to see him get hurt and I want to make sure that he's not reading more into something than he should be. He told me that you've been writing him love letters a few times a week."

Nick waited for a reaction from Abby, but she didn't say anything so he continued, "I was surprised to say the least, but when I got home and started thinking about it, I wondered if he might not be mistaken. That perhaps you just leave him some notes and he's mistaking them for something they aren't: wishful thinking kind of thing."

Abby still didn't respond and Nick could see that she was thinking carefully about her next words.

"Well, I can see that you aren't in the mood to talk, so I'll leave you to deal with it, Abby, but do be careful, yeah?"

Abby reached for Nick's sleeve, holding him back from leaving. "No, look, Cutter, I'm sorry, I just… Thank-you. You know, for looking out for him; we all know he needs a bit of looking after sometimes!" She chuckled a bit and then thought she'd have some fun with Nick. "I do leave him quite a few notes though; I guess I should be more careful. Here, I was just writing this one to him a moment ago. Could you please read it over and let me know if you think it could be misconstrued at all? I wouldn't want Connor to think it was something it wasn't."

Nick nodded and took the piece of paper that Abby had handed him, scanning over it.

_Dear Connor,_

_I wish you had seen Lester's face today when I told him that we were late for work because you turned off your alarm clock so that it wouldn't keep waking us up. "That's the bloody point!" was his reaction I believe. I'm with you though, the thing is irritatingly annoying. I'd much rather be cuddled up to you in bed than filling out more field reports. I wish we'd hire a field co-ordinator to do all that sort of stuff, yeah? Anyway, I just thought I'd leave you this note to wish you a very happy day and tell you that I love you so very very very much. I miss you right now, even though you are just down the hall. Love Always, Abby._

Nick's mouth dropped a bit and then masked his expression and handed it back to Abby. "Yeah, well I guess Connor's not so much of an idiot after all. I thought it was pretty straight to the point actually. No mistaking that for anything it isn't."

He turned to leave the room and Abby called after him, "And what would that be, Cutter?"

Nick turned back to her with a smile on his face, "A love letter, definitely a love letter."

"Good. I'd hate it if he got that one wrong."

Nick just shook his head with a smile as he left the room.


	12. Connor's Letter

The moment that Nick left the room, Abby pulled the letter from Connor back out of her purse and began to read it eagerly.

_Dear Abby,_

_It means so much to me when you write me letters. I thought it was about time that I responded in kind. Can you ever imagine me really using a phrase such as "responded in kind"? I feel so posh! Letter writing is posh, yeah? Apparently I'm not very good at letter writing though, because it has already taken me almost an hour to get this far. I will, however, plow on, because you deserve a response as well as all my time and effort to communicate with you in this way, which you chose._

_Abby, when I first opened that first letter, I wished it was from you. It didn't occur to me at that time that it possibly could be you, the thought never even crossed my mind for a moment, but I wished that someday you'd feel the same way about me that the person writing the letters felt. _

_The first time I let myself think that maybe, just maybe, it could be you was the day you got groceries. Even then I was sure that it was just wishful thinking, but I kept hoping so much that I stopped being able to picture it as anyone else. The clues never contradicted that wish, so I let myself secretly hope it._

_The day you left one on the ADD though, that's when I knew for sure. I just knew that I was reading your words. I dunno how I knew, but I did._

_Abby, thank-you for still writing to me even though I know that it is you now. I love to get your letters. They are even so much better than the little post-it reminder notes which I also treasure. _

_Abby, did I ever tell you that I told Stephen I wanted you to be my girlfriend only hours after meeting you? I've always known I loved you. Also, I have a bit of a confession to make. Do you remember when I first moved into your flat and I told you that I'd been following up a few leads to try and find a new place? Truth is that even before I moved in with you, I had had an offer from Tom and Duncan to stay there. They had a great flat and everything, but I turned it down because it wasn't quite up to my standards. My standards would've made me turn down any flat without an Abby in it. It's a good thing you let me move in or I'd still be looking for a good enough flat, yeah?_

_I hope that one day you will let me read the signed letter that you wrote first and saved for me. _

_Abby, remember when I got freaked out by the letter that mentioned kids? You should know that I'm not so freaked out about the idea now that I know it's you. But, maybe not yet, okay? _

_Abby, I know you've been scared of us being together, but I've been scared of the opposite. I was scared for ages that you would never love me. I was scared that if you never did love me, I could never love anyone else and I would be alone for always, pining after you. I was terrified you would find someone else and I would lose you. Thank-you for not letting that happen Abby. Me and you, we belong together Abby. Forever. I just know we do._

_Okay, now my hand hurts and you're calling me for dinner, so that's my cue to go and end this letter. I'll try to mail it tomorrow so it arrives like a proper letter._

_I Love You, From Connor._

_PS: It's tomorrow now from when I wrote the rest of this but I can't mail it. I am sorry. Do you know our address? I never thought about it before since I never send meself mail. I'm sending this letter via very special delivery with a Mr. Professor Postman who has promised to deliver it, ASAP._

_PPS: I told the Professor about the letters. I hope you don't mind._

Abby giggled when she read the post scripts and then she reread the entire note once more. As soon as she got home she'd have to start a box like the one Connor had so she could save his notes as he did with hers, because she knew she'd cherish this letter for always.


	13. The Pink Envelope

Abby found Connor a little bit later in the lab talking to Nick about one of Nick's many theories. She ignored the fact that Nick was watching them together closely as she walked over and kissed Connor quickly on the lips in greeting him.

"Hey, You," she said softly, pulling back with a smile. "I read your letter."

Connor smiled back at her proudly, "It was good, yeah? I've never written a proper letter before and it took me ages to make my thoughts sound like something that could be made sense of when read instead of just crazy talk, but I think it sounded like a letter in the end, dinnit?"

Abby nodded, "It was brilliant, Connor. I'll treasure it always." Then she turned to Nick and smiled, "And thank _you _for delivering it."

"My pleasure," Nick nodded, "But Abby, for the future, you might want to teach your boyfriend his address."

Connor's head jerked up in surprise. He supposed it'd been nearly three weeks since he'd officially been in a romantic relationship with Abby, but it felt really strange to hear someone else refer to him as Abby's boyfriend. Strange, but ridiculously good. He glanced at Abby to see what her reaction to the title was, but if she'd thought anything of it at all, she didn't show it.

Instead she just chuckled, "Don't worry, Cutter. He's not getting supper tonight until he has it memorised."

"Hey!" Connor protested. "That is most_ decidedly_ unfair, especially after the nice letter I just wrote for you. Plus, I'm starving already! You can't do that, Abs."

"Ah," Abby pondered, "I guess that would be mean then. Can't have you fainting from hunger, after all. Okay then, here's the deal…" She handed him the orange envelope that contained the note she'd written earlier, the one that Nick had proofread for her. "I wrote this this morning. It's just a short note, not a reply to your letter as I didn't have that yet when I wrote this. I've written our address on the envelope this time. When you know it, you can open it and read my note, but not before."

"Abby, _that's_ worse than the dinner thing!"

Abby smiled at that, but held her ground, "Memorise it first, Connor. I mean it." She kissed his cheek and left the room, calling to Nick over her shoulder, "Make sure he doesn't peek!"

As soon as she was gone, Connor turned to Nick and groaned. "Why does she have to do stuff like that to me?"

Nick chuckled, "She loves you Connor; she probably doesn't want you to get lost."

"I _know_ where I live!"

"Then perhaps she just wants some real mail next time."

Connor pondered the thought with a grin as he sat down to memorise the address.

* * *

><p>Abby sat in her room for hours that evening, rereading the letter Connor had given her. He'd been happy enough when she'd been satisfied that he knew the address and she'd let him read her latest note, but now she felt that Connor's letter deserved better than a quick note about Lester and the alarm clock. As she read Connor's letter, she kept coming back to the line about him wanting to read the first letter she'd written to him. She sighed and went to her desk to retrieve it. It was time, she decided.<p> 


	14. The Drive

Connor sat on the couch playing his video games, but his heart wasn't really in it at the moment. Abby had locked herself in her room for hours. He knew that she enjoyed her alone time, but usually she'd have come out by now and snuggled with him for awhile. Sometimes she'd even play the games with him. He began to get a bit lonely and wondered whether or not he should go and check on her.

He had just shut his game off, making up his mind to go get her, when she suddenly appeared. To his surprise, she was all dressed up. She wore a bright pink, purple and yellow spaghetti strapped dress that flared out to her knees and a pair of purple sandals. She'd even used a pink barrette to pin back that one longer piece of hair that was always falling into her eyes.

"Abby, you look lovely," Connor commented.

"Thanks. Connor, take me out tonight."

Connor nodded eagerly, "Sure, Abs! Where to?" They hadn't actually gone on a proper date before and Connor had been looking forward to the day when he could show her off in public. He wanted everyone to know that she'd picked him.

Abby, however, wasn't in the mood for anywhere busy at the moment. "I dunno: somewhere we can just enjoy each other's company without a bunch of distractions."

Connor frowned, "We could do that _here_, Abs."

"Yeah, but I want to go out. Please, Con?"

As if he'd ever say no to that! "Alright, Abby. Let me go get changed and I'll think of some place, okay?"

Abby flashed him a huge grin, "Thanks Connor!"

Connor kissed her cheek quickly before dashing up the stairs to find something appropriate to wear to… well, to wherever it was they were going. He paused as he tried to think of someplace he could take her. He couldn't take her to dinner, because they'd already eaten, and he was pretty sure that a movie would count as a distraction. Suddenly he had another idea.

"Abby?" He called over the railing to where she was waiting below, "Wha' 'bout the beach? It's warm out and there won't be many people at night."

He watched as Abby hesitated and then shook her head, "It's too far away, Con, but that'd have been lovely."

"It's the weekend, Abs. We could stay the night at an inn and drive back tomorrow. Just think how nice it'd be to walk along the sand holding hands beneath the stars."

He had her, and he knew it. Abby pulled her mobile out of her pocket. "Can you pack me an overnight bag, Connor? I'm gonna get someone to come feed the pets in the morning."

* * *

><p>They talked casually about work as Connor drove, but Abby only half paid attention. She was thinking about the letter in her purse. Probably after their walk they could sit down somewhere and she'd let him read it. She was a bit nervous about seeing his reaction to it, but it was all stuff that Connor should know.<p>

"Who did you find to feed the animals, Abby?" Connor asked suddenly.

"Lester, who else?" Abby grinned.

Connor burst out laughing but then suddenly stopped and looked at her, "That _was_ a joke, right?"

Abby smiled, "No, he's a bit softie at heart, Con."

Connor shook his head as he pulled up at their destination, "Yeah, so you've said before, but I daresay you bribed him somehow."

Abby giggled, "I told him we'd bring him back another bag of those expensive treats he likes to feed the mammoth."

"I swear he spoils that thing more than you spoil Rex," Connor chuckled. Then he thought about it and changed his mind, "Or at least it's probably a draw."

"C'mon Connor," Abby replied as she climbed out of the car, "I think you spoil Rex more than I do, but are we really gonna spend our night out talking about Lester?"

Connor took the hint as he climbed out the other door and hurried over to take her hand.


	15. The Plain White Envelope

**A/N: This is the final chapter of this story. Thanks so much for reviewing everyone who did :) You guys are wonderful, fantastic, brilliant, and all them other fabulous-type words! Gold stars for you all! PS: The next story of mine that is in bad need of some editing is "The Long Way Home" so it'll be my next repost. In other words, if you haven't read it yet... don't haha. It'll be better to read as I repost it and add page breaks and edit out typos etc. (Wow, not once did I think I'd tell anyone to NOT read one of my stories... I DO want you to read it... just wait for the reposts, yeah? Okay... enough rambling... onto the story... bye for now!)**

Connor and Abby went over to the beach-side inn to check their stuff in before heading outside for their starlit walk by the water. For most of the walk they didn't speak, but every once in a while they'd point out a shooting star to each other or ask if the other was cold. They walked for over an hour before Connor finally said they'd probably better head back. As it was, it'd be gone one'o'clock before they got back to the hotel unless they sprinted, and neither was in the mood for that.

Abby stopped walking, but didn't turn around to head back. Instead she looked at him and smiled. "Can we sit for a bit first? I want to show you something."

He looked back at her curiously as he nodded his agreement, "Sure, Abs. What is it?"

Abby didn't answer; she just tugged on his hand and led him over to a log that lay fallen across the beach. She was rather nervous about letting him read the letter still, but it was too late to change her mind since he was looking at her with expectation. They sat down in the sand with their backs against the log. Connor waited for a bit, but when Abby didn't seem to be showing him anything, he became a little bit confused, wondering he he'd heard her right. "Abby?" he questioned her.

"I'll show you Connor, but first you have to kiss me."

Connor grinned and happily complied. Kissing Abby was one thing he'd never tire of. As soon as his lips met hers, he sensed her nervousness and instantly his kiss became both protective and tender at once. He felt Abby relax and sigh happily before she pulled away. "Thanks, Con, I needed that."

Connor chuckled, "Trust me, Abby, it was my pleasure. Now, what did you want to show me?"

She pulled her purse into her lap and reached inside it, handing him the letter. This time it was in a plain white envelope. Connor's eyes lit up as he reached for it eagerly, but Abby grabbed onto his wrist to stop him. "Before you look at this one, Connor, you should know it's the first letter you've been asking about."

"I know," Connor grinned at her.

Abby stared at him, puzzled, "But… how?"

Connor shrugged, "Because you're all nervous about it and because I've been hoping you'd let me read it. Wishful thinking can work you know, that's how I knew the Secret Admirer notes were from you after all. Can I open it now, Abs? Please?"

Abby laughed and let go of his wrist, nodding her permission. As Connor carefully opened the envelope, she rambled to him nervously, "Remember, I wrote it before the other ones and before we were going out, yeah? So some of the stuff that's in there you already know, okay?"

"Shhh!" Connor said to her, placing his index finger on her lips, "I'm_ reading_." Then he turned his full attention to her words on the page.

_Dear Connor,_

_It's me, Abby. I guess you'll find it a bit weird that I am writing you a letter even though we live together, but I have my reasons. The first reason is that I like to write. And yes, I know this letter is long, but yes, you do have to read it all and no, I will not read it to you while you play video games. The second reason I am writing is because there are a few things that I want to tell you, but I'm a little bit scared to do so. You know me, I hate being scared, so I'm gonna make this as easy as possible for myself and for me that means writing a letter. _

_You've probably guessed that I don't do so well when it comes to emotional topics. In fact, I tend to express a lot of emotions the same way, making them all look like sarcasm and anger even if I'm feeling just sad or lonely or frightened or even pleased. I am sorry that you have to put up with that side of me so very often. To be honest, it amazes me sometimes that you do, that you haven't moved out ages ago. I think you're the only person who has stuck with me long enough to notice that sometimes when I yell or snap, I'm more scared than mad. _

_Connor, the next part of this letter might come across as really, really random, but it's just some stuff that I want you to know about me and never quite knew how to broach in normal conversation. It's not important now, it's all in the past, but I feel like I want you to know it anyway. I've always wanted to have someone who knew all the little things I keep secret about myself, but only you, okay? Whatever I say here is a secret, yeah?_

_To be honest, I don't even know how to broach the subjects in a letter since they are so random, so I'm just going to write them down in point form. _

_1. My parents divorced when I was six. My mum left us and moved to America and I've never heard from her since._

_2. My dad told my brother and I that it was our fault she left because Jack and I weren't well-behaved enough and caused her too much stress._

_3. My dad drank a lot, and sometimes he hit me._

_4. I've dated very very few guys and they were never who I thought they were when I first met them. Relationships scare me. I've never had any good ones._

_5. I had to pretty much raise Jack on my own. Jack is four years younger than me. I did a lousy job, I guess, because he's always getting into trouble with gambling and drinking. I keep bailing him out, giving him money when he asks for it. Maybe I should let him learn the hard way, tough love kind of thing, but I do it because I blame myself for how he turned out. I should've done a better job at looking after him._

_Okay, that's all I can think of just now from my past, so let's get on to the important stuff, the present day stuff, and the real reason for me writing you this letter._

_I'm sure you've noticed that I don't have a lot of friends. I guess it's because I push everyone away so often. Everyone has always let me down in the past, and I discovered it hurt more the closer I was to them, so I stopped letting people get close to me. Usually it works when I push people away. Except, with you, it was different. Every time I pushed you away, you pushed yourself back into my life twice as hard. I don't know how you ended up talking your way into moving in with me while I was trying to push you away, but you did, and I'm glad you did. See, now I've finally come to realise that you are loyal. That you really aren't going to hurt me. Sometimes I still wonder in amazement how it came to be that I, Abby Maitland, ended up with a best friend._

_I've never had a best friend before, so if I do the whole best friend thing horribly wrong, please let me know. I've heard rumor that best friends tell each other secrets. Do you want to know my biggest secret of all? I'll tell you._

_I, Abigail Maitland, am in love with you, Connor Temple. _

_There, I dared to admit it. I first knew that I liked you when you promised not to tell anyone that I'd kept Rex. Of course, I pushed the feeling away then. I even convinced myself that I preferred Stephen. See, Stephen was a lot like the few guys that I had dated in the past. He would have hurt me, we both knew that, but that was familiar territory for me and I figured it would be a small hurt because I'd be expecting it. You, however, were a risk. I knew I'd be crushed if I got close to you and you hurt me. So I stayed clear. At least, I tried, but like I said, you didn't really let me get away and I am so grateful. _

_So there you have it, I love you madly, Connor and I hope it's not too late for us because I want to be your girlfriend, but what's more important than that is that I don't lose you as my best friend. I don't want anything to be weird between us now, regardless of what you choose. Please, give me a sign either way or better yet, tell me up front where I stand, and then we can go from there because I need you in my life in some form or another. _

_Of course, I still have to work up the courage to give you this letter, and I usually fail drastically in that department so chances are you'll never read this, but who knows, maybe this time it'll be different._

_Love Your Abby._

Connor finished reading and pulled Abby close to him. She was looking at him anxiously and he quickly kissed her forehead. "Abby, you already know I love you, yeah? Like you said, you wrote this before. So why are you so nervous now?"

Abby smiled and shrugged, "I thought you might be a bit upset that I've been pushing you away on purpose for so long."

Connor chuckled, "I understand, Abs. Thank-you, for trusting me with all the stuff here."

She nodded and reached up to kiss him. They sat there for a bit, lips locked to each others gently, until they were interrupted by a sudden thunder clasp and downpour in a surprise summer storm.

They both leapt to their feet. "Did I say I _didn't_ feel like running back?" Abby called as they took off. "I think I changed me mind!"

"Wait up!" Connor called after her as they sprinted down the beach, laughing the entire way.

**The End**


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